Motor Transportation Enterprise

including motor depot, motor transport establishment, motor transportation office, motor column, motor combine, motor parking lot, motor garage, and so on. In the USSR a primary state self-supporting enterprise for the motor transportation of freight and passengers. Also in charge of the storage, technical servicing, and current (operational) repair of means of transportation and of supplying operating materials. A motor transportation enterprise works according to plans confirmed by higher organizations. Depending on the type of transportation they provide, motor transportation enterprises are divided into freight, passenger (bus, taxi), mixed, and special enterprises (such as first aid, sanitation, and communal service). There are general and departmental motor transportation enterprises.

General motor transportation enterprises are under the jurisdiction of the ministries of motor transportation of the Union republics. Every autonomous republic, krai, and oblast has motor transportation administrations or trusts that direct the work of motor transportation enterprises. These enterprises are in charge of freight hauls in cities and between cities for enterprises and organizations of all branches of the national economy, specializing by type of freight. Passengers (with buses and taxis) and mass transit users are also served. There are motor transportation enterprises hauling freight between cities and also transporting commercial, agricultural, and construction freight, and freight at railroad stations and from stations. As a rule the economic efficiency of general motor transportation enterprises is high because transportation is their basic activity.

Subordinate motor transportation enterprises haul freight for enterprises or groups of enterprises of a corresponding ministry or agency. They provide means of transportation for industrial, agricultural, or construction enterprises (chiefly intraindustry and technological freight hauls) and cooperate with general motor transportation enterprises.

A motor transportation enterprise has a dispatcher staff. In an enterprise that specializes in freight hauls, the staff studies the flow of freight and the transportation links with industrial enterprises, concludes contracts with freight shippers, and observes the conditions of the contract; it issues shift and daily work assignments to drivers with a view to maximizing the use of the capacity of the trucks and minimizing empty runs; it also organizes control over the work of the trucks in operation. In some cases the enterprises are in charge of the loading and unloading, dispatching, and warehousing connected with freight hauling. If there are several general motor transportation enterprises in one city, a central dispatcher service may be formed to provide overall direction.

Passenger motor transportation enterprises study the commuting pattern of the population, decide on the need for passenger transportation at different times of the day and in different directions, and establish routes (in coordination with city executive committees). They draw up bus schedules, establish parking lots for passenger taxis, and organize control over the drivers’ work.

The motor transportation enterprises have increased in size with the development of motor transportation. In 1968 a general motor transportation enterprise had an average of 300 automobiles. Big cities have motor transportation enterprises with more than 1,000 automobiles. Such enterprises employ several thousand people.

There are also general and subordinate motor transportation enterprises in the other socialist countries. In the capitalist countries a considerable number of motor vehicles are not under the jurisdiction of motor transportation enterprises but of individuals, farms, or firms. There are also independent motor transportation enterprises to transport freight and passengers.